The Chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Trust, Mr. Ajeya Kallam, has said that the cargo traffic through India’s West Coast ports, which have traditionally handled the bulk of Indian trade, is estimated to drop to 66 per cent in three to four years from 77 per cent in FY 2010.Speaking at ‘East Coast Maritime Business Summit’, he said in comparison, the share of East Coast ports would rise by as much as 11 per cent in the same period, to 34 per cent. To take advantage of this, Visakhapatnam Port is planning to invest Rs. 13,000 crores in the expansion, he said.
Ports of the East Coast would benefit from the country’s rising trade with South East Asian countries, especially China, he added.
The two-day summit was organised by Maritime Gateway.
Visakhapatnam Port handled 67.41 million tonnes of cargo in 2011-12, against 68.04 million tonnes the previous year. But the cargo movement was hit to some extent by global slowdown, fall in iron ore export to China and competition by ports in the neighbourhood, he said.
Chief Executive Officer of Krishnapatnam Port Anil Yendluri said it would be difficult for the Government to build infrastructure for growing trade on its own. “Government will have to consider joining hands with private players to build the infrastructure,” he pointed out.
Chief Executive Officer of Dhamra Port Santosh K Mohapatra stated that East Coast ports have the advantage of deep draft facility, but unlike the West Coast ports in Gujarat, building a port would require huge upfront investment in East Coast states, due to the geography.
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